Sunday Silence Colt Brings Nearly $2.8 Million In Japan

A full brother to Japanese champions Dance Partner and Dance in the Dark brought the top price of 335 million yen (approximately $2,791,667) as the Japan Racing Horse Association select foal sale ended its two-day run on Tuesday. Takaya Shimakawa purchased the colt by perennial leading Japanese sire Sunday Silence from Teruya Yoshida's Shadai Farm. The price was a record for the auction, which has been conducted annually since 1998.

Produced from the unraced Nijinsky II mare Dancing Key, the colt also is a half-brother to Japanese group III winner Air Dublin (by Tony Bin).

In all, 186 horses were sold for a gross of 5,439,600,000 yen ($45,330,000) and an average price of 29,250,000 yen ($243,750). All were increases from last year. The buy-back rate was 37.2% (the highest ever for the auction), with 110 of the 296 horses offered failing to find new homes. In 2001, the 185 horses sold grossed 5,165,800,000 yen and averaged 27,923,000 yen.

The sale was held at the Northern Horse Park on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.